The year I did it, we lined up early a few rows back (but not super early) by age groups. The track is wide, so if moving up is the goal it is pretty easy to do. When the pack hits the steep part the hill before you turn onto the dirt it really slows down and you can power to the front if that is where you want to be. The real craziness starts on the first downhill.
If you haven’t gone down Oil Well Road at speed I strongly recommend pre-riding it. It is fast and loose. People crashed hard in my wave as they came in corners way too hot. The year I did it the fog was so thick you couldn’t see anything either which didn’t help. Personally it’s a long race… it’s not worth the 30 seconds to risk crashing out the first few miles, but that’s me.